It has become common practice to design boxes and other containers so that the boxes and containers provide a vehicle for advertising and displaying the box contents. In this, attractive designs are printed on the box with pictures of the articles contained in the box and with information about how the article operates or is intended to be used. Some such boxes have hinged covers which can be opened to display the box contents at the point of sale and then be reclosed upon purchase so that the articles in the box are protected while they are being transported to the buyer's destination. The box with which we are primarily concerned with here is of this general type.
An example of a prior container of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,327. That patented carton has a molded plastic bottom section and a cardboard cover glued to the rear edge of the bottom section so that the two sections are hinged together permitting the cover to open and close. A guide panel is hinged between the bottom section and the cover which functions as a display panel when the box is opened and which also biases the cover to its open and closed positions.
That prior container is disadvantaged, however, in that it is relatively expensive to manufacture and assemble. This is because the bottom section of that container is a molded plastic piece. The cover section and guide panel, on the other hand, are made of cardboard and must be appropriately folded and then glued to the plastic bottom section. Resultantly, manufacture and assembly of that box is relatively time consuming.
Also, since the bottom section of that known container is a rigid plastic shell, the container cannot be shipped in a flattened condition from the box manufacturer to the filler and an inventory of such boxes takes up a large amount of warehouse space.
Another disadvantage of the prior box is that its appearance on the shelf when open or closed is not as attractive as one might wish. This is also due primarily to the fact that the prior carton is a hybrid construction composed of adhered-together cardboard and plastic parts.